Picks and Pans Review: New on DVD

Brad Pitt's big fat Greek epic, a bloated adaptation of Homer's Iliad, features plenty of muscles but little heft. As the warrior Achilles, Pitt broods and preens (where did he find hair gel in ancient Greece?), leaving the heroic acting to Eric Bana, as Pitt's Trojan foil Hector, and a regal Peter O'Toole, playing Troy's King Priam. Extras: A second disc of bonus material yields three brief but interesting making-of featurettes (most notably on the fight sequence preparations) and an overview of the Greek gods, who are barely mentioned in the movie. (R)

Garden State ($29.98)

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Making his writing and directorial debut, Zach Braff impresses in this poignant comedy as a washed-up actor who returns to his New Jersey hometown for his mother's funeral and ends up connecting with a quirky stranger (a magnificent Natalie Portman). Extras: In two engaging commentaries and a charming documentary, the Scrubs star explains how he navigated the independent-film world to make his Garden grow. (R)

The Ultimate Ron Burgundy Two-Pack ($27)

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As a chauvinistic '70s TV anchor, Will Ferrell mines occasional nuggets of comic gold in the uneven Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (released in an unrated version that features some gross new gags). This set includes a second film, Wake-Up Ron Burgundy, which has been cobbled together from Anchorman outtakes and a discarded subplot involving bank robbers. The result is scattershot but offers funny turns from Saturday Night Live vets Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler. Extras: Several hilarious deleted scenes and clips of Ferrell-as-Burgundy on MTV and ESPN prove that the character works best in small doses. (Not rated)